Figures provided by the nation’s four police forces show 1,025 crimes were reported on hospital premises between the start of March last year and the same point this year

Police were called in to investigate allegations of kidnapping, child sex abuse and faked drug prescriptions

Irate patients lashing out at dedicated staff and cruel thieves swiping cash from the sick were among 1,000 crimes recorded in Welsh hospitals in a single year.

Cops were even called in to investigate allegations of kidnapping, child sex abuse and faked drug prescriptions, we can reveal.

Figures provided by the nation’s four police forces show 1,025 crimes were reported on hospital premises between the start of March last year and the same point this year.

Tina Donnelly, director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales, branded the findings “just unbelievable,” while the chief executive of the Patients Association called our figures “truly shocking”.

North Wales Police recorded 156 allegations of crimes at hospitals during the period, including a report of a kidnapping which saw a person charged.

Separate claims of sex assaults on a boy and girl aged under 13 remain undetected, as does a claim of theft by an employee at an unnamed hospital.

Officers in the Dyfed-Powys Police force area investigated 70 incidents, including an attack at Carmarthen’s Glangwili Hospital which saw a female staff member punched in the face and left with a bloody nose.

A thief went into patient’s bedside drawer at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli and swiped £120, while a separate incident saw £150 stolen from a patient at the same hospital.

Theft of money was reported from a “restricted area” on a ward at Brecon Hospital, while a man was charged after allegedly forging a drug prescription by changing it “in order to obtain more medication than what had been prescribed” at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth.

Officers also charged a person over an incident at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest which saw staff verbally abused before the suspect urinated in a sink in the accident and emergency department.

Prescription drugs were also reportedly stolen from the hospital in another incident.

Two incidents of thefts by hospital employees were dealt with by adult cautions, though further details and the names of the hospitals involved were not disclosed.

There were also two reports of sex assaults on females aged 13 or over as well as incidents of criminal damage, cannabis and cocaine possession and a patient threatening to kill staff during a medical assessment.

Gwent Police said they had investigated 98 crimes reported at hospitals over the year but did not provide any details, while South Wales Police said officers had received 701 reports of crimes at hospitals but were unable to provide information.

RCN Wales director Ms Donnelly told us: “Where you have identified that a female member of staff was punched at Glangwili Hospital and left with a bloody nose that is absolute assault and everybody, no matter what their job, is entitled to a secure and safe working environment and that is totally unacceptable.”

She said aggression towards staff “is on the increase” – especially in the wake of adverse publicity surrounding several hospitals, particularly the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

The problem is spreading from predominantly emergency units to “a lot of other acute areas within hospitals,” she said.

Ms Donnelly added: “What’s encouraging from this report is that we have now got reports of the police actually releasing those figures and 1,025 crimes in Welsh hospitals over a period of a year – that’s including kidnapping, arson, sexual assault and theft – is just unbelievable.

“I would say that certainly it is the most serious abuse that’s reported because often nurses will tolerate certain levels [of abuse].

“We would like to see what the health boards’ and the Health Minister’s response is to how they are managing this situation because if we are still sitting here in a year’s time saying there’s still over a thousand crimes reported in Welsh hospitals we’d like to know whether there has been an increased presence of security around the areas and what security is there for staff to ensure that they are entitled, under health and safety legislation, to a safe working environment.”

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “It is truly shocking to learn of these crime statistics that are coming out of our hospitals in Wales – particularly some of which are serious and include reports of sexual assault and theft.

“Patients deserve to be treated in an environment that is safe and secure and where they feel protected.

“Spending time in hospital is not always the most pleasant experience and the last thing that a patient needs is to become a victim of crime.

“Furthermore, NHS staff who are looking after patients have a right to work in an environment that is safe.

“It is simply unacceptable that hardworking doctors and nurses are being subjected to violence and threatening and abusive behaviour whilst trying to do their job.

“Nobody should have to work in fear of their own safety and especially those who dedicate their lives to caring for others.”

BMA Cymru Wales’ senior public affairs officer John Jenkins said: “These are worrying figures – both in terms of the potential numbers involved and the fact that so few doctors tend to report violence. We hope that this is not because they feel the problem is not being taken seriously.

“Ministers have repeatedly stated that there should be zero-tolerance to violence of any sort in the NHS. We heartily agree.

“The mechanisms must be there to minimise the likelihood of attacks, to support staff who experience them, and to ensure that anyone who commits an act of violence is dealt with appropriately.“

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Violence against NHS staff and criminal behaviour on NHS property will simply not be tolerated.

“NHS staff should be able to go to work without fear of violence, abuse or harassment from patients or their relatives. Violence not only puts healthcare workers at risk but prevents them from doing their job.

“Although it is a relatively small number of people who cause problems it is important that we have and continue to make improvements year-on-year in the way that these individuals are identified and dealt with.

“We are committed to supporting staff if an incident of violence or aggression occurs. We have made significant progress in raising awareness of the problem, encouraging staff to report incidents of violence and aggression so prosecutions can be pursued.

“We have seen a huge rise in successful prosecutions, which we hope sends a clear message that we have a zero-tolerance approach in operation. We want those who think they can get away with attacks on NHS staff to know they will feel the full weight of the law.”

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